Dumping vehicle body



C. J. THORNTON.

MPING VEHICLE BODY.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 25,

lPatentedi 0012.31, 119232a -2 SHEETS-SHEEI IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY 1 4L34L168n C. J. THORNTON.

DUMPING VEHICLE BODY.

APPLICATlON FILED NOV. 25. 1921.

Pamnted Oct. 31, 1922.,

2 SHEETS-SHEE'I Z.

' ATTORNEY U lit CIVILIAN' J. THORNTON, 0F MILLINGTON, MICHIGAN.

DUIlZPING- VEHICLE EDDY.

Application filed November 25, 1921. Serial No. 517,687.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. CIVILTAN J. THORN- TON, a citizen of the United. States. residing at Millington, in the county of Tnscola. and State of Michigan," have invented certain new and useful improvements in Dumping Vehicle Bodies; and'l. do hereby declare the following to be-a tull, cleai', and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled' in the art to which it appertains to make and use the This invention relates to improvements 111 vehicles and relates-more particularly to dumping bodies for motor-driven trucks,-

wagons and similar vehicles.

Tlie 'objects of my improvenient are to provide'au-simple and inexpensive dumping body that can be automatically dumped and returned to its horizontal position by oneman' and-that may: also be capable 01" being opera-ted: tronithe drivers seat when desired. Q

My improvement ineludes certain novel devices for positively holding the dumping body=in its horizontal position while the load is being transported: and to permit the body to be tilted ior dumping and to be automatically locked in its downwardly tilted"positionuntil the operator desires to restorethe body to its horizontal position. Means is=-also provided for unlocking the body while in its looked or tilted "position. restoring it tothe horizontal position and again looking it, thus giving the operator complete control' of" the operation of the tiltingbody, not only While in its horizontal or transporting "position, but also I in its tilted or dumping position.

Withth'e fOI'G OLQ and certain other ob- D b ects;1n v1ew which will appear later 1n the specifications," my invention comprises the-devices described and claimed and the equivalents thereof.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective vie-W 0f= the tilting body" in its horizontal position.

Fig.2is a" side elevation of the same inits' dumping position. I

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the parts shown in 1.

Fig. 4 is a view of the front end ofthe dumping body; I

Fig. 5 is a combined the combined hinge and 'spring latch by which: the lever that actuatesl'the lockingbolt l's' engaged. 5

sec ion l detail of l 1 1g. 6 1s a similar view showing the locking-"bolt lever in place.

Fig. 7 is a part sectional side elevation, showing a modified term ofdevice for 'restoring the body from its dumping position to its horizontal position.

Fig. 8 is a similar view of the same, showing the body in'its dumping position.

Fig. 9 is a perspective detail otthe springs employed in the modified form shown in Figs. '4" and 8. v

Fig. 10 is a perspective deta'lot a pie terred form. of latch for holding the body down in its dumping positi'on;

As is clearly shown in the drawings. the device consists in the usual dumping body 1 pivotally' supported just forward of the that are mounted on the trained ofthe truck.

A swinging door 5 ishinged horizontally to the ba'clrend oi the bod y, so as toswing outwardly from below,ias shown'in Figs. 2 and 8. The door 5 maybe held in its cl sed position by means of av bolt 6. which is pivoted at its upper end to a vertical y niov able arm 7, one end of which is 'pivo ed to the door 5, the free end of the arm adapted to be releasably engaged by a spring 8Q which is preferably setured to one o l-the hinges 9, so thatwhen the door'is closer and the bolt 6 is received in a socket 10 carried by the body l the arm 7 will be out of engagement witlrtlie spring" 8. I l fhjen the arm Tis raisedand boltb is unlocked and the body tilted. then the 7 is engaged'by the spring, as shown in Fig. 6.

The tilting ot the body; as indicated in Fig. 6',"holds the sprin'g'8 in such position that ifs-retains the arm 7. but when the body 'middleoi its lengtlrupon pivots 2, which i is again restored to'its horizontal position.

the spring 8 releases the arm 7, as indicated bolt 6 remainsl'ocl-zed until the body has almost reached its lowermost position. The bolt (Sis then automatically unlocked by the engagement-otthe arm 7 with a. stationary member; as board7, on the frame. For this purpose the-arm Tmay be provided with an outwardly projecting lug 12. which catches on the board 11' when the "body is tilted.

To hold thebody in its horizontal position' when' loaded' and to prevent its accidental tilting, I provide a strut or brace "13, which is preferably hinged at its lower end to a stationary member 11, its upper end adapted to releasably engage a lug or equivalent projection 14: secured to the upper part of the rear end board of the body 1, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

To prevent displacement of the strut 13 sidewise with respect to the lug 1 1, I prefer to provide on this lug a pair of guides 15,

. there being one of these guides at each side side near the drivers seat.

is raised or lowered.

of-the lug 14. The strut 13 may be disenraged from the lug 14; by beingpushed downwardly as indicated by dotted lines. When the body tilted, as shown in Fig. '2 the strut 13 will be guided between the guides 15, and when the body1is restored to its horizontal position, the strut 18 will automatically drop into place underneath the lug 14, as shown in Fig. 1.

' To conveniently release the upperend of strut 13 I prefer'to provide an offset rocking bar 16,01. its equivalent, which may be pivoted to the rear end ofbody 1' and may be rocked by means of a link 17 anda lever 18 pivoted thereto, within convenient reach of the operator. i

In Fig.2,lever 18 is shown asbeing located at the side ofthe dumping body, but

it mayifdesired be located at the ri'ght side of the cab, asshown in F 1g. 7, or-at the left To hold the body in its tilted position any suitable means may be provided.

In Figs. 1 and 2, I have shown at 19 a bar pivotedat one end to the b0dy'-1,'so that when the front end of the body is raised, as shown in Flg. 2, the bar 19 will assume the position shown by dotted lines and act as a post to support the-body in its tilted position. 1

I have also shown in Fig. 2 amodified means for holding the body in its downwardly tilted position. This second latch or lockin means may be employed in conjunction with the bar 19, or it may be used in place of the :bar. It consists primarily in a hinged may be disengaged therefrom bythe offset rocking bar 16. The bar 16 pushesthe strut l3 outwardly and releases it from lug 14, permitting the body 1 to be restored to its horizontal position. The pin 21 on bracket 1 20 thereupon engages lug 22and locks the body in its tilted position, as shown in Figs. 8 and 10. A second operation of the rocking bar 16 releases the pin 21 from the lug 22 i ,eee, 168

and permits the body to return to its horiaontal position.

If desired, aspring 23, or its equivalent may be secured to the strut 18 and to a sta' tionary member of the frame,'as shown in Figs; 2 and 7, to normally hold the strut 13 against the lug-141:. 1

Sometimes it requires considerable force to start the loaded body from its horizontal position to the tilted position shown in Fig." 2, and to provide the desired leverage. i may employ a hand lever 24- connected by a s'w'iyv. eled link 25 to a bracket 26 fiXedto the body, 1. The upper end of'swiveled lmk25 may slide freely up and down on the bracket, as indicated n Figs. 2 and 4, and the swiveled link 25 accommo-dates'itselfto the a ngular movement of the body 1 and. alsoto its.

vertical moveme'ntwhile tilting, As a modified means'for tilting the body and restoring it to its horizontal position I may employ the device shown in-F1g's.,7fto

9 inclusive, which consists in'apair ofcoil springs 27'fixed to a rocking shaft 28,.wh1ch is mounted on the sills 3.

adapted to be rocked by anoutwalrdlypro-: I jecting arm 29, to the-upper end of which is pivoted a link 30,,operatedby a quadrant lever 31, within reach of'the driver. a

To tilt the body, the driver after having."

released the strut 18 by means of the lever 18, pulls back the lever13 1' in-the event that the loadis not properly distributed, .butin casetheload is evenly distributed" in the body, thebody will automatically tilt when the strut 13 is released.

To restore the body .to its horizontal posi tion after dumping, the operator forces the, quadrant lever 31 forward, rocking the shaft 28 and yieldingly forcing the empty, body 31into its horizontal position by'means of the spring 2 By the means above described, I have produced a-s1mpl'e and lIl6XpGI1SlV6 dump ng ibody that can be readily attached toan eX- isting form of wagon or motor truck. The 7 body is positively locked, not only in its horizontal position, but also in its tiltedpo' sition, and .iS-QiiSllfJ unlocked by the operator when in either one of its positions, and

can be readily moved to the other position; In the forms shown in Figs. 7and 8; all

of these opera-tionscan be controlled by. the

operator without leaving his seat. Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is I I 1. In combination, a tiltable vehicle body having a swinging end door, a latch device for said door, a stationary frame member, a bar hinged at its} lower end tosaid stationary frame member, the upper end of said baradaptedto releasably engage and'lock the end of said body against ti-l'tingwhensaid body is in its horizontal position.

2. In combination, a tiltable vehicle body having a swinging end door, a stationary frame member, a latch device for said door adapted to engage said frame member when said body is tilted and to automatically unlatch said door, a strut hinged at its lower end to said stationary member, a strut-engaging lug on the end of said body above said door, and a rocking bar adapted to disengage the upper end of said strut from said lug.

3. In combination, a tiltable vehicle body having a swinging end door, a stationary frame member, a latch on said door, an arm pivotally connected to said latch and adapted to engage said stationary member to withdraw said latch when said body is in tilted position, a strut hinged at its lower end to said stationary member, the upper end of said strut adapted to releasably engage the end of said body, a lug near the lower end of said strut, a hinged bracket releasably engaging said lug in the tilted position of said body, a rocking bar adapted to disengage the end of said strut and said body, when the body is horizontal, and to disengage said lug and said bracket when the body is tilted.

In testimony whereof, I wit: my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CIVILIAN J. THORNTON. Witnesses:

W. E. HUNT, F. J. HARBIN. 

